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Links 9/8/2025

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When Tiger Conservation Overlooks Human Lives Sapiens

Feds slate purge of ‘checkerboard’ wild horses despite court ruling, sparking new lawsuit Laramie Boomerang

Climate/Environment

How insurance pricing obscures the real cost of climate change Moving Day

Even untouched ecosystems are losing insects at alarming rates, new study finds Phys.org

A ‘Roomba for the forest’ could be SoCal’s next wildfire weapon LA Times

Beavers return to the forest landscape, reviving its natural environment Eurekalert!

Pandemics

Do I Have to Go Abroad for a COVID Booster? MedPage Today

Japan

Ishiba “Gives Away The Store” to Trump Japan Economy Watch

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba Announces He will Step Down Yomiuri Shimbun

India

Henry Tillman: Russia-China-India Nuclear Partnership Glenn Diesen

China?

Breakneck, the big parade, and mirrors in mirrors China Translated

Parades and charades at Tiananmen Asia Times. “China’s military parade day statements suggest it no longer believes reconciliation with US is possible – nor necessarily desirable.”

US to draw back from Asia in new defence policy concept Intellinews

China paves way for renminbi fundraising by Russian energy giants FT

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Dandan Zhang: China’s factory workers go gig The East Is Read

Old Blighty

890 arrested at London protest in support of Palestine Action, say police Anadolu Agency

Will Corbyn allow Zionists to sabotage him again? Asa Winstanley

Syraqistan

Israel Destroys Another High-Rise Building as It Escalates Offensive in Gaza City Antiwar

Trump’s Hostage Deal Plan Won’t End the Gaza War – and That’s the Whole Point Haaretz

Where are the peacekeepers for Gaza? Maike Gosche

Yemen’s Houthis claim responsibility for drone attack on Israeli airport Al Jazeera

French arms sales to Israel hit record high in 2024: Report The Cradle

Undersea cables cut in the Red Sea, disrupting internet access in Asia and the Middle East NBC News

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Israel backs off talk of annexing West Bank after UAE warning WaPo

Ben-Gvir storms West Bank city as Israel forces carry out arrest campaign New Arab

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Iran turns to China, Russia to bolster air defenses as it preps for next Israel war Al Monitor

European Disunion

Expensive ‘green’ hydrogen jeopardises German industrial energy transition FT

Former German Foreign Minister Baerbock starts UN job DW

New Not-So-Cold War

Trump signals tougher Russia sanctions, India oil trade may face heat India Today

Treasury secretary says U.S. and European Union must partner to ‘collapse’ Russian economy NBC News

The ‘Fortress Russia’ economy has adapted well to pressure. But stagflation presents an opportunity for the West Chatham House. Just a few more years, and they’ll have ’em right where they want ‘em.

The Baltic Sea as an Arena of Undeclared Hybrid War Kommersant (machine translation)

‘Someone’ might have to blow up prospective Russia-China pipeline – Fox News host RT

The Neo-Nazi Who Knew Too Much? Kit Klarenberg

UKRAINIAN NEOFASCISM – War Time Developments: Part 1 AZOV and Part 2 ‘Right Sector’ Gordon Hahn Considering Russia and Eurasia

South of the Border

Trump 2.0

Trump Pivots to the ‘Homeland’: Neocon Deathblow? Or Simply Imperialism Repackaged? Simplicius

West Point cancels ceremony to honor Tom Hanks as ‘outstanding US citizen’ The Guardian

“Liberation Day”

White House promises better economy by year’s end Regular Order by Jamie Dupree

The Dismal Science

Ideas Have Consequences The Impact of Law and Economics on American Justice The Quarterly Journal of Economics

Police State Watch

Democrats en déshabillé

The Elephants in the Room: Why Big Tech Oligarchs Love Abundance Liberty and Power

Imperial Collapse Watch

Chartbook 407: Polycrisis revisited: Are we beyond Neoliberal Order Breakdown Syndrome? Adam Tooze

You don’t have to believe in their supremacy Anti-Empire Project

Accelerationists

The Hot Mic and the Monsters Notes from the Circus

The Benefit of the Doubt What We Lost

The Billionaires Fueling the Quest for Longer Life WSJ

Immigration

Human Trafficking at Hyundai Concerns Raised Following ICE’s Raid & Detention of 300 Korean Workers in Georgia Payday Report

Trump shows S Korea who’s boss with Hyundai plant raid Asia Times

AI

AI Adoption Rate Trending Down for Large Companies Apollo Academy

What if the AI stockmarket blows up? The Economist

Sports Desk

A pro wrestler, an MMA fighter and the staged fight that turned into a bloody battle LA Times

Groves of Academe

Cognitive scientists and AI researchers make a forceful call to reject “uncritical adoption” of AI in academia Blood in the Machine

Larry Ellison Is Spending Billions to Reshape Oxford and His Own Legacy WSJ. Commentary:

Healthcare?

Employer-sponsored health insurance costs could see highest increase since 2010, report finds KSAT

Cigna’s $3.5 Billion Bet Tightens Its Grip on Specialty Drugs HEALTH CARE un-covered

Class Warfare

Michigan’s capital plans new approach to homelessness: A pod city Bridge Michigan

Why do we collect things? Cazadora

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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138 comments

  1. The Rev Kev

    “Treasury secretary says U.S. and European Union must partner to ‘collapse’ Russian economy”

    Secretary Scott Bessent is a genius. A giant that walks the financial world. His idea? Europe and the US getting together to collapse the Russian economy and force Putin to negotiate on western terms. This has never, ever been tried before. Perhaps Bessent could organize a series of packets of sanctions against them. I’m sure that the Russians will never see it coming.

    Idjut.

    Reply ↓
  2. Wukchumni

    Why do we collect things? Cazadora
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I stopped collecting coins by the time I was 14 or so-I was much more interested in the pursuit of profit by buying or selling them (as a rule of thumb-aged round metal discs were almost never traded for other coins in the trade-it was all cash & carry) and although much of my business life was wholesale dealer-to-dealer transactions, most of it was going to end up with collectors in the end.

    I suppose my closest effort at getting to the end user would have been via eBay in the late 90’s, and it was gravy city in many ways in that I noticed much of what I sold was going to the hinterlands, where there were no coin stores or coin shows-the traditional way to do business last century.

    Those first couple years on eBay, I couldn’t believe how many would-be coin collectors were out there, finally getting a chance to acquire-and ridding me of all my inventory in the process. It took many years to bleed out, but by 2005 I was rid of everything.

    All the examples given in the article of collectors-save Joan Didion were men, and in the coin biz it was all male coin dealers for the most part-as well as collectors. I didn’t know of 1 serious female coin collector-she didn’t exist.

    Reply ↓
    1. griffen

      Pretty sure this is not new territory but the younger generations don’t have much interest in collecting items or treasured family “things” as opposed to travel, events and concerts. I will do the occasional concert but it’s nearly as often as say a leap year. Once every 3 to 4 years and I’m all set on concert attendance.

      Varied collections of family china are gathering dust as the nephews and nieces start families. Even if someone became interested where does it go…moved out of one closet and into another makes little sense at all. Could be useful for target shooting maybe ? The fourth or even fifth generation just won’t have an attachment it seems.

      Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni

        I came of age in the great collecting era of the 1970’s, where damn near everything was a limited edition, and thus valuable!

        None of it is worth anything for the most part ( a highly desired Hummel figurine was worth around a grandido in the mid 70’s, saw one on eBay for a measly $20 recently) and the only redeeming value was the coins, medals, plates and whatnot made out of sterling silver, and only because of the old grey mare being worth $40 an ounce.

        You’re absolutely right about the younger adults not having any interest in what interested us, they aren’t wired the same-nor do they have the desire to have and hold things*-not their bag.

        *Sneakers notwithstanding, now why a pair of Air Jordans new in the box and made in Malaysia 40 years ago is worth tens of thousands of almighty bucks, i’ll never know.

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      2. lyman alpha blob

        The problem with concerts, sporting events, etc. is that it’s getting increasingly difficult to get a ticket stub to collect as a memento. I’ve kept the stubs as keepsakes for years – they don’t take up much space – but recently I’ve found an increasing number of places that will only give a digital ticket even if you buy in person at the box office.

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    2. Craig H.

      If anybody has a quality HOWTO for culling their book collection I would love to see it. I estimate I need to cull about 500 books and have been procrastinating it for far too long already now.

      I am considering such drastic measures as the entire Anthropology shelves have to go.

      Reply ↓
      1. lyman alpha blob

        As someone whose house is too small to contain my growing library, I can give you an easy step one. Get rid of all books you have duplicate copies of due to getting a little too enthusiastic at the used bookstore and forgetting what you’d already purchased ;)

        But with “AI” out there adulterating who knows what these days, I’m increasingly reluctant to get rid of any dead tree versions.

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      2. JustAnotherVolunteet

        I have a little free library near me – in a public park and near a grade school. I take a handful of culls several times a week since it’s on my walking route. A slow bleed but I try to mix it up so one week it’s kids books and another it’s politics and biography. Lots of stuff goes in a day or so but contemporary fiction can sit for quite a while. Maybe the market for that is saturated already.

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      3. LaRuse

        I have a couple of used bookstores near me that accept books for store credit. Getting credit helps a lot to encourage me to let books go. Yes, I spend the money on other used books in the store, but if nothing else, it helps me refresh my library a bit. And the big chain store, Second and Charles, will pay actual cash for books but it is pennies on the dollar. Still, if its a question of storing books forever or getting $.11 cents on the dollar for offloading them, a few extra bucks in your pocket might help make it easier.

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      4. GF

        Our public library will take all books in decent condition and magazines. They sell the better quality books for a dollar or so and have yearly book sales for everything else.

        Reply ↓
    3. chuck roast

      The Collector

      I met a traveler from an antique show,
      his pockets empty, but his eyes aglow.
      Upon his back, and now his very own,
      he bore two vast and trunkless legs of stone.

      Amid the torrent of collector’s jargon,
      I gathered that he had found himself a bargain,
      A permanent conversation piece post-prandial,
      certified genuine early Ozymandial.

      And when I asked him how he could be sure,
      he showed me P.B. Shelley’s signature.

      Ogden Nash

      Reply ↓
  3. The Rev Kev

    ” ‘Someone’ might have to blow up prospective Russia-China pipeline – Fox News host”

    Where do they find these idiots? Oh, yeah – Fox News. When I saw that image of Jesse Watters, I swore he looked like Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s kid brother. So I looked up his Wikipedia entry and found that this sort of thing is normal for him. He will make all sorts of despicable claims but when called out on it, chickens out. Watters Always Chickens Out. His claims on Canada were a classic for him-

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Watters

    Reply ↓
    2. Martin Oline

      Thanks, Rev. I have a deep dislike for Jesse but reading through that wikipedia article has made me wash my hands. Not that there’s anything wrong with washing my hands. . .

      Reply ↓
    5. Daniil Adamov

      Gahaha! Okay, that made my day, both the Canada part and the rest of it. Thank you. “…if I were a citizen of another country and I was a neighbor of the United States, I would consider it a privilege to be taken over by the United States of America. That’s what everybody else in the world wants — American citizenship. For some reason, that’s repellant to you Canadians, and I find that personally offensive.”

      I’d say this comes off as satire, but some people you just can’t make up. But by the way, that makes him perfect for saying some things that others in his milieu would just think…

      Reply ↓
  4. MicaT

    Wild horses

    It’s actually a big problem. They have no natural predators. They are big, they eat a lot and actually destroy a lot of the natural vegetation for the native animals.
    In eastern oregon the same thing is happening, but there the horses are often released because people can’t afford to feed them.

    There is big push back against removing them by well meaning people who don’t understand the science of what’s
    Going on. And of course the damage and growth of the herds gets worse year by year. And coupled with climate change the damages are exacerbated

    The horses are not native.

    Reply ↓
    2. Mark Gisleson

      NE Illinois along the WI border used to be one horse farm after another (long white-painted rail fences like in Kentucky). Then suddenly all the horses were gone. I honestly can’t remember when it happened, but I think it was right after the 2008 stock market collapse. No news stories about those horses but I’m pretty sure they met the same fate as the wild horses.

      Reply ↓
      1. Louis Fyne

        Horse farms (iirc in IL) gets classified as “agricultural” for property taxes…. the same as a soya farm.

        as you can imagine that gets tapped as a nice tax benefit by horse-loving gentry.

        See the Wirtz farms (Chicago sports team owners)

        Reply ↓
      2. Tinky

        The most likely explanation is that the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industries in Illinois have long been contracting, and it has now almost reached the terminal stage. In 1991 there were 1,473 registered foals; in 2000 the number was 957. In 2023, there were only 79 foals produced.

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    3. Lupana

      3600 horses on 2.1 million acres doesn’t sound like a big problem to me. Whether the horses are native or not is open for debate – I’ve read varying opinions. But what is clear is that the cattle in those areas are not native and yet there seems to be no concerted effort to remove them unlike the native bison whose herds are culled or the wolves who are killed all to “protect” the cattle. It seems to me it comes down to money and power. Whether you believe they are native or not – they are naturalized at this point and maybe it’s ok to just enjoy their beauty. Live and let live seems a good policy both in how we treat other species and how we behave in the world overall.

      Reply ↓
      1. Bugs

        Native equines in the Americas disappeared by the end of the Ice Age, around 10k years ago. These horses are descendants of those brought by European settlers or colonists.

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        1. Lupana

          “These horses are descendants of those brought by European settlers or colonists.” As a large number of humans here are descendants of those European settlers or colonists then the horses have as much right to be here as those human descendants. And I would contend that the horses do a lot less damage than the humans (and their livestock).

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  5. The Rev Kev

    “West Point cancels ceremony to honor Tom Hanks as ‘outstanding US citizen’”

    Guess that Tom Hanks shouldn’t have voted for the Democrats. But man, this is so petty and mean-spirited this.

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    1. Wukchumni

      In pre-9/11 America we toured the grounds of West Point perched above the Hudson River, and I daresay not a blade of grass was out of place, you could eat off of it…

      …in stark contrast less than 10 miles away ensconced in our metal cage we watched drug deals going down on the street in nearby Newburgh, a fair burb with a crime rate like you wouldn’t believe

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      1. derf

        Newburgh and West Point are both in the congressional district of CIA Democrat Pat Ryan (AIPAC, Palantir). He has made a big deal out of being the first West Point grad to represent the Academy in congress: duty, honor, country. So far, he hasn’t said anything about Tom Hanks, but then again, he hasn’t said anything in months about Gaza or Ukraine either.

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    2. griffen

      Wondering if Secretary of the War Dept ran it by the Big boss to get a late approval or to quash the ceremonial honor to beloved actor Tom Hanks. Nothing too small or even trivial makes it past the eyes and ears in the Oval office.

      Trump be like, ” he let his friend Bubba die in Vietnam, I totally would have kept an eye out for my best buddy. That Forrest Gump was just a real loser, just not very good…”\ sarc

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      1. Carolinian

        Hanks the unofficial mayor of Hollywood and DJT hates Hollywood. Bet they’ll shape up after this latest blow.

        Look out George Clooney. The Prez has already criticised his acting.

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    4. pjay

      It is petty and mean-spirited, but I still find it hilarious. Hanks is one of the most important useful idiots for Establishment propaganda in Hollywood. His “aw shucks” everyman personae makes him the perfect representative in such genre. That Trump would be dumb enough to interfere with such a “patriotic” display does show how petty and stupid he really is. I shed no tears for Mr. “average American” Hanks, but this simply demonstrates how ridiculous everything has become.

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      1. Wukchumni

        I’d warned Tom that doing Bosom Buddies would be bad for his career, and now any mere whiff of trans is grounds for dismissal.

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    5. The Rev Kev

      Seems that Trump was all in on this happening-

      “Important move!” Trump said in a post on his social media network Monday. “We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!! Hopefully the Academy Awards, and other Fake Award Shows, will review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice.”

      https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/trump-responds-after-west-point-cancels-tom-hanks-military-honour-20250909-p5mti5.html

      Reply ↓
  6. leaf

    Seems like every subsequent strike by Russia is now being labelled as the “largest strike of this war”. Now is this an arithmetic or geometric increase and progression? Perhaps one day enough drones will be produced to blanket the entire surface area of the EU

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    3. Mildred Montana

      Nothing like perpetual war to bring out, perpetually, our military armchair “experts”. There was a time when military secrets were actually secret. No longer, apparently, in the age of the Internet. They—those so-called experts—seem to have a pathological (or financial) need to be first with the latest. Troop movements, casualties, enlistments (forced or otherwise), defections, weapons procurements or losses etc., etc., etc.,—all are grist for their keyboard mill. Regardless of truth or lack thereof.

      Which reminds me of a wonderful T.S. Eliot quote from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”:

      “In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse…”

      Couldn’t be more apt in the age of Internet instantaneity.

      Reply ↓
  7. Wukchumni

    Tiny Town confidential:

    Our new big fat Greek restaurant-Tony’s Taverna, looks to finally open after about 6 years of being built-certainly a record of sorts.

    It has seating for 240 and parking for maybe a dozen vehicles, we’ll see how that works out, Opa! springs eternal~

    Full Disclosure: For at least a decade i’ve been spreading rumors of a coming Thai restaurant-none of them true whatsoever, but if you build it up, they’ll come… was my thinking.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      You could get into their good books by suggesting an Uber zone for people to be dropped off and picked up thus relieving the parking situation. And then you could suggest they set up a hole in the wall Thai restaurant for takaways as there is a demand for it in Tiny Town – you.

      Reply ↓
  8. The Rev Kev

    ‘Raphael Rashid
    @koryodynasty
    1/ Something that’s not being reported much re: ICE crackdown at Hyundai-LG Georgia battery factory: Korean companies investing billions cannot get proper visas, are then criminalised for bringing skilled workers to fill gaps American labour cannot. Sentiment is one of betrayal.’

    I realized something about Trump today. Take a look at that factory set up by the South Koreans. So they brought in some of their own people to keep production up and that place profitable which was just a business decision. Eventually, with a bit of pressure, you would have an American workforce trained up there. It was a sort of you scratch my back and I will scratch yours and is a normal way of doing things. But Trump does not think like that. His way of operating is that he is the hegemon and every other country is just a vassal so he can do to them whatever he like and does not have to respect them much less listen to them. That they will have to run to him like he did with those EU leaders begging for favours. The humiliation of those arrested South Koreans is just par for the course for him.

    Reply ↓
    2. Young

      Hyundai hides behind the subcontractor who probably brought these workers from South Korea. Somehow, the subcontactor’s name is not reported anywhere.

      Why doesn’t the DOJ arrest the owner of the subcontracting firm/agency for this violation? Don’t tell me that he/she is an equal opportunity political donor.

      Just like Epstein and Maxwell are the criminals, but, john does walk free.

      Reply ↓
      1. lyman alpha blob

        The don’t arrest the owners because they don’t really want to stop illegal immigration. They just wasn’t to put on a show making it look like they do. Quickest way for Trump to have another bullet sent in his direction would be to actually cut off the cheap labor supply his wealthy donors depend on for their outsized wealth.

        Reply ↓
    3. Louis Fyne

      South Korean companies, whether outright or via tiers of contractors, have a reputation of exploiting any loophole or tactic to keep wages down. (in this case, purposefully abusing visa categories)

      It was an entire subplot in “Squid Games” series 1.

      So bizarre, but unsurprising, that so many nominally left-wing pundits disaprove of this enforcement action.

      political Litmus tests win again!

      Reply ↓
      1. scott s.

        If you watch Korean TV dramas, the use of subcontractors to hire labor for overseas construction (typically sited in places like Dubai) is done by the evil chaebols to avoid giving permanent jobs (with labor protections) to struggling Koreans.

        Reply ↓
      2. Don

        I don’t understand what your point is Louis, perhaps because, as a socialist, I rarely know what people mean by “leftists:, “left-wing”, and so on. So often, it seems to be directed at Democrats, or in Canada at Liberals (nitwits in the comments sections of the G&M often refer to the Liberal Party as “socialist”, or even as “Bolshevik” or “commies!”) but I will assume that by “left-wing pundits” you mean Democrats, who I regard as being decidedly right-wing. Personally, I don’t have a strong political opinion on this “enforcement action” one way or the other —these Korean guys will likely be fine — mostly, I think it’s remarkable how the USA in almost its entirety, “The Greatest Country on Earth”, Trump, MAGA, the Democratic Party, et al, continues to embarrass itself beyond all imaginable expectations. And of course so does sidekick Canada, albeit with more decorum and less clownishness.

        Reply ↓
  9. Revenant

    Is Adam Tooze OK? Do we need to.stage an intervention?

    He appears to be disappearing up his own fundament, in a hermeneutics of the polycrisis, without actually, you know, defining and opposing the malefactors and poisonous nostrums that are blowing up society.

    His post linked to Aufhebunga Bunga (great name) who appear much more members of the “reality-based community”, so I suppose I should be grateful for that discovery.

    The post beneath, ” You don’t have to believe in their supremacy”, is doing the job that he is too paralysed by intellectual crisis to do….

    Reply ↓
    2. lyman alpha blob

      Has he always had such an acute case of logorrhea? He’s has good info and I think his heart is in the right place – I think that but it is difficult to suss out sometimes. I bought his book Crashed when it came out and it was very dry to the point of tedium. I’d read six or eight better books on the financial crisis years before, so I wasn’t exactly on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it all turned out, and only got though a small portion of Tooze’s doorstopper. Today’s link sent me off to the Land of Nod. Piketty writes real page turners by comparison.

      Since we were mentioning book culling above, if anyone needs a very slightly used copy of Crashed, call me!

      Reply ↓
  11. Revenant

    Larry Ellison, Oxford and Sir John Bell? What a fight, pass the popcorn!

    Larry Ellison is what he is.

    Oxford is the institution that prides itself on 900 years of saying “No”, as I was once told by the technology transfer office while trying to spin out a medical technology. In the same meeting, they told off their lawyer for trying to help me find a deal! (Spoiler – we found a deal)

    Sir John Bell is, by the account of my co-founders, an oceangoing stuffed shirt who chairs so many the Great and the Good activities that, fortunately, the poison of his personality and arrogant dogmatism is diluted and some science can take place in his absence.

    Sir John Bell has met his bureaucratic in-fighting match, perhaps, but my money is on Oxford, in the long game. Remember, the University and Colleges are ancient real estate corporations with a lecture theatre attached. Ellison has already overpaid 400% for a single pub. Wait until he finds out how much his Institute has cost him….

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    1. Pat Morrison

      > Larry Ellison is what he is.

      Reminds me of this quote from an old talk by Bryan Cantrill on Oracle’s acquisition of Sun

      You need to think of Larry Ellison the way you think of a lawnmower. You don’t anthropomorphize your lawnmower, the lawnmower just mows the lawn, you stick your hand in there and it’ll chop it off, the end. You don’t think ‘oh, the lawnmower hates me’ — lawnmower doesn’t give a family blog about you, lawnmower can’t hate you. Don’t anthropomorphize the lawnmower. Don’t fall into that trap about Oracle.

      Reply ↓
  12. griffen

    Sports Desk entry, late edition. “No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!”. It’s not Frank Reich vs the hapless Houston Oilers eons ago but it goes into the books for an epic victory.

    My doubts were completely dismissed as a late game comeback, aided by a timely defensive forced turnover too, is the opening week* 1 highlight from the NFL. Someone get the Raven’s star running back Derrick Henry a bit of tacky tape, you gotta just hold on to the rock man.

    Apparently spitballs will be an acceptable form of handshake or congratulatory hug post game. No one permitted with in spitting distance ha ha…\sarc

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    1. Wukchumni

      I take no shame in admitting that I went to bed when they were hopelessly 15 points down with seemingly no chance late in the 4th-the gawds have me just where they want me to be being a Long Suffering Bills Fan of some standing, the game’s in the refrigerator, the door’s closed, the light’s out, the eggs are cooling, the butter’s getting hard and the jello’s jigglin’ (hat tip to the late great Chick Hearn) was my thought, what a bad way to greet the new bright and shiny season, and then I wake up to a win, what the hell happened?

      Reply ↓
      1. The Rev Kev

        Had something like that with Rugby League back in ’91 in the Grand Final. The Penrith Panthers were being beaten hard by the Canberra Raiders and with only a quarter hour on the clock, people were leaving the stadiums as they did not want to see their team beaten again. And in those 15 minutes, the Penrith Panthers turned the whole game around and went on to victory-

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3TQ9oooxL0 (14:50 mins)

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      2. griffen

        I know others who may on occasion quote Sun Tzu….never interrupt the enemy when they are making mistakes. Running the ball late in a real end game scenario is almost always* the best call, unless a 1st round draft pick at defense end knocks the ball loose onto the ground. Heads up play from Oliver for the Bills D. Hey it’s like a less than 5% chance that happens but there it went !

        Next mistake was the Ravens offense punting I suppose from the ESPN talking heads, handing both the ball and time remaining back to Josh Allen, and then a quick strike set of play calls leading to a last second game winning FG.

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      3. Jonathan Holland Becnel

        My bro wanted me to stay and watch the game, but I’m all like RAVENS GONNA RAVEN so I went to go see the latest Conjuring Movie (which ruled btw) and lo and behold I watch the game recap when I get back and HOLY AMAZEBALLS BATMAN BILLS WIN! BILLS WIN!

        Has Josh Allen finally broken the curse?!

        Reply ↓
  13. The Rev Kev

    “Trump says ready for ‘second phase’ of sanctions on countries buying Russian oil”

    Well that’s really only China, India, the EU and I think Saudi Arabia well. China can it back with counter sanctions, India is increasing the amount of oil it is buying, Trump would never hit Saudi Arabia so that only leaves the EU and they have promised that they would do this.

    Reply ↓
    1. hk

      I’ll confess that I’m kinda giddy at the prospect of France, UK, and Germany being sanctioned by US for buying Russian oil.

      Reply ↓
      1. The Rev Kev

        You think that France, UK, and Germany will sanction the US for buying Russian refined uranium, fertilizers and chemicals?

        Reply ↓
  14. Carolinian

    Re Hyundai raid–so given this sudden Trump admin concern towards worker safety and human trafficking that means meat and chicken processors will be next? Surely it’s not just Korea.

    Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni

      So far here in the land of the fieldworker of Mexican heritage, there haven’t really been many apprehensions-maybe because food is kinda important, or that we are the de facto Red bastion in a sea of Blue in the state?

      Reply ↓
    2. griffen

      Depends really on which US Senators are possibly on the payrolls of a Tyson chicken, a Pilgrims Pride or the biggest of them all is JBS. I’m sure those firms are equal and opportunistic on whose lifestyle, eh campaign efforts , are suited to the corporate interests. Added I recently made the trip into Atlanta on I 85 and the recently constructed SK battery manufacturing plant north of the metro is a massive group of facilities. Like something from an old X Files episode where nefarious conspiracies and assorted proofs are stored in a vault.

      Lastly, now those lifeless, bloodless chickens dangling off the running line aren’t chopping off their own little heads are they ?

      Reply ↓
    3. Young

      Classic “We know where your children are” game.

      In order to gain levererage on Samsung and Hynix’s China business, they went after Hyundai.

      Philly Shipyard is next.

      Reply ↓
  15. The Rev Kev

    “Where are the peacekeepers for Gaza?”

    I don’t think that any country would want to send their soldiers to Gaza. The Israeis would attack them, claim an accident and then Trump would give them cover for this attack. And they have a long history of attacking neutral troops, especially in the present one. After the 2008 war the UN sent in troops to try to disarm Hezbollah and the French, as part of this force, were firmly on the side of the Israelis. But nonetheless Israeli aircraft would do practice bombing on those French formation as they were total d****. It was only when the French soldiers lit up those aircraft with manpads that the Israelis finally knocked it off.

    Reply ↓
  16. The Rev Kev

    “Parades and charades at Tiananmen – Asia Times”

    Trump posted a message on Truth Social and said that Xi had organized the whole parade just for Trump to notice – which he did. Even for Trump that was a bizarre claim to make.

    Reply ↓
    1. hk

      Anti tank guns supposedly made tanks obsolete in Spain, in late 1930s. Things didn’t stay thst way for long, though. (But then, Blitzkrieg was also obsolete by 1943…and the French infantry’s idea about tank battalions attached to infantry divisions became the thing.)

      Reply ↓
  18. Carolinian

    Re insurance prices and credit scores–this seems to me an important topic for car insurance as well as home insurance and particularly as you have no choice about car insurance in order to legally drive. The insurers claim that lower credit correlates with more insurance claims but perhaps that’s merely an excuse to get arbitrary rate increases past the regulators. As the article says it also gives a break to wealthier customers who may be more likely to complain to regulators about their rates–the real “risk” to these businesses.

    Reply ↓
  19. Mikel

    Dandan Zhang: China’s factory workers go gig – The East Is Read

    (My highlighted words in bold)

    “As industrial upgrading and digital transformation accelerate, the cost of capital declines, skill requirements evolve, and human capital depreciation speeds up, the employment model in the manufacturing industry has undergone profound changes. With the skill level required for manufacturing workers continuously decreasing, the traditional long-term, stable employment model is gradually being replaced by short-term and gig workers, making “gig work” the primary form of labour in the sector.

    Take Kunshan, Suzhou—the focus of my team’s research—as an example. Ranked first among China’s 100 most economically competitive counties, Kunshan is home to thousands of labour service and employment intermediary agencies, which supply workers daily to thousands of large-scale manufacturing enterprises in the region and its surrounding areas. During peak periods, tens of thousands of workers enter factories for employment each day. This highly efficient labour supply-demand matching mechanism plays a crucial role in meeting the workforce needs of Kunshan’s 3C manufacturing industry, giving rise to a new production model in export-oriented manufacturing—one with distinct Chinese characteristics, combining “high-tech + gig work.”

    While the flexible labour model enhances the international competitiveness of China’s export-oriented manufacturing industry, reduces labour costs for enterprises, and provides diverse employment options for individual workers, it also presents potential risks at both the individual and industry levels. In the ongoing push for “high-quality and sufficient employment,” there is an urgent need to closely monitor the evolving trends of the gig workforce and explore strategies to sustain the international competitiveness of export-oriented manufacturing in the era of gigification. This is an issue that policymakers cannot afford to ignore.”

    And it’s at the point now that whenever I read the words “international competitiveness”, I see it as code for screw all workers. All the allegedly competing blocs appear to agree. Their main disagreements are about global elite equality.

    Reply ↓
  20. Wukchumni

    Mystery achievement
    Don’t breathe down my neck no
    I got no Liberation Day trophies on display
    I pay up the nose anyway
    I mean what the heck
    All of your promises
    Don’t fill me with pride no
    You just wanna get out on the ground floor
    And do the crypto slide, slide, slide, slide

    But every day, every nighttime I find
    Mystery achievement
    You’re on my mind
    And every day, every nighttime I feel
    Mystery achievement you’re so unreal

    Mystery achievement
    Where’s my tariff dividend? yeah
    I had my dreams like everybody else
    But they’re out of reach
    I said right out of reach
    I could ignore you
    Your demands are unending
    I got no tears on my self-licking ice cream cone but you know me
    I love pretending

    Mystery Achievement, by the Pretenders

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDvqDTdgIj0&list=RDNDvqDTdgIj0

    Reply ↓
    1. Revenant

      A friend is sitting there this week and arrived early, didn’t see it, was told about it and found they were covering it up immediately. So they did not see the Banksy, which is an image of a high court judge (horsehair wig) beating a protestor with a gavel. Amazing how fast the powers that be are when they want to be….

      Amusingly, the friend said that the talk of the robing room was that the gavel has never been used on the bench by judges in England & Wales (or Scotland) (*).

      (*) pedants will know that a gavel is used by judges in the Central Crown Court in London to rap on the door to announce their entry to court. This is the only gavel in court in England.

      Reply ↓
  22. Mikel

    Trump’s Hostage Deal Plan Won’t End the Gaza War – and That’s the Whole Point – Haaretz

    And the alleged deals about Iran’s nuclear program won’t end hostilities with Iran.
    Seems like it was disregarded in much of the media about how those negotiations with Iran kept creeping into all other kinds of demands.

    Reply ↓
    1. Mikel

      https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/8/six-killed-in-nepal-amid-gen-z-protests-after-social-media-ban-all-to-know/
      Nepal Gen Z protests amid social media ban, clashes kill 19: All to know

      While I have no doubt there is more to know – eventually – this part caught my attention:

      “Why did Nepal ban social media sites?

      The government blocked 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

      The ban came into effect after one week was given to these social media websites to register with the Nepali government. The websites had until September 3 to register with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

      To avoid being shut down in the country, the websites had to name a local contact, a grievance handler and a person responsible for self-regulation.

      A day after the deadline, the government issued a directive to the regulator, Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), to shut down the websites that did not comply. An unnamed ministry official told the Reuters news agency that some platforms, including TikTok, Viber, and WeTalk, had registered with the government.

      According to the government, users with fake IDs on these platforms are committing malicious acts and cybercrime, disrupting social harmony. About 90 percent of Nepal’s 30 million people use the internet, according to a 2021 NTA report…”

      Reply ↓
  24. Es s Ce Tera

    re: I think this thread tells you everything you need to know about JD Vance and the way he views law and order.

    I think it also tells us what he thinks of God and Jesus. Can’t give them a bigger F U than that.

    Reply ↓
  25. John

    Re losing insects – like a lot of people I first copped to the insect apocalypse about 10 yrs ago when I noticed my windshield didn’t have any bugs smashed on it. Where I live in the PNW it’s just gotten worse – not just insects but the bird population has crashed. Where I once had a flock of 50-75 swallows during the summer, nada. Same thing with sparrowhawks, quail, finches. The years ahead look very dark

    Reply ↓
    2. lyman alpha blob

      A small ray of hope – in recent years I have noticed monarch butterflies after seeing none for a really long time. This year there were even some flitting through my yard.

      Reply ↓
    3. rabid groundhog

      Same here in the hinterboonies of upstate NY, closer to two decades since there has been a single swallow. Bats and frogs too.
      A source of suprisingly deep sorrow.

      Reply ↓
    4. amfortas

      im just not seeing that, out here.
      bugs galore…and not just my place(where i encourage things like dragonflies).
      and the birds have seemingly fully recovered from whatever chemical the hay farmers used 10 or 12 years ago that drastically reduced the population and set off that multiyear grasshopper plague.
      even hearing a lot of quail…after 20 years, no less(imported fire ants are hell for ground nesters)…these quail likely escaped from a quail operation about 5 miles north of me.

      Reply ↓
      1. John

        Good to hear. Where I live at the north end of the willamette valley there’s an unending hard rain of poisons of the insecticide/herbicide/fungicide type sprayed on various crops. No doubt contributes to the population crash of various critters, including, coming to us soon, h.sapiens.

        Reply ↓
      2. Don

        Same here in Central Mexico (where we with the help of friends, neighbours and the municipal government, which phoned to see if people on our street were OK because they hadn’t heard from us, are battling a raging flood) — lot’s of bugs, particularly masses of big, beautiful butterflies, and birds seem to be coming back too, after a worrying 2024… perhaps a temporary respite, but we will take what we can get.

        Reply ↓
  27. Mikel

    What if the AI stockmarket blows up? – The Economist

    “In another respect, though, America’s economy is in a historically unique position: individuals’ exposure to the stockmarket has never been so high. Ownership of stocks accounts for about 30% of the net worth of American households, compared with 26% in early 2000, at the peak of the dotcom bubble. Such ownership is concentrated among the rich, whose spending has powered economic growth of late. According to Oxford Economics, a consultancy, consumer spending rises and falls by about 14 cents for every dollar change in financial wealth. These changes, in turn, depend more than ever on a few giant firms whose prospects will be shaped by AI.”

    Hmmm…I think the international investment in the particular stocks and hype would be worth noting. The enormity of this bubble isn’t caused by only Americans.
    And, for all the decline of empire discussions, SillyCon set the terms (even when not always leading) for how governments around the globe are attempting to define progress. That’s troubling on its own.

    Reply ↓
    1. ilsm

      AI data center are a huge “investment”, not only the chips, routers, infrastructure in the data centers (inflating the mag 7) but in region electric grid load to power the data centers.

      Will there be revenues to give ROI to the data center investors, and will grid rates crush involved locales?

      How much can DHS buy.

      Reply ↓
  28. lyman alpha blob

    Jonathan Turley, a free speech advocate for the most part, has a few big blind spots (don’t say anything mean about the Zionist entity around him). Today he once again runs up against the limits of his own tolerance for the 1st Amendment, as well as showing his age by failing to credit a quote – https://jonathanturley.org/2025/09/07/the-new-jacobins-guillotines-return-as-form-of-political-express/

    He definitely does not like protestors who are chanting “We got the guillotine, you better run”. While he allows that this phrase is protected speech, he compares those using it to Jacobins, and decries them for threatening violence against their political opponents. He seems a bit frightened by the likes of Hakeem Jeffries in pictures wielding a baseball bat. If Hakeem Jeffries is making Turley’s knees go a-knocking, maybe it’s time for him to cover up those gams with his big boy pants.

    Also, Turley fails to give credit where credit is due, likely due to being unaware of the provenance of the phrase that has his knickers in a twist. “We got the guillotine, you better run” comes from a song from Boots Riley’s group The Coup that I’ve referred to many times. Every elected official who does the bidding of rich donors over the will of the people would do well to take it’s message to heart – The Guillotine

    Turley would also do well to remember JFK’s remark about those who make peaceful revolutions impossible making violent revolutions inevitable.

    Reply ↓
  29. Jason Boxman

    Looking out for working class women!

    Juggling Congress and Life, She Opted to Freeze Her Eggs (NY Times via archive.ph)

    Ms. Jacobs said her experience trying to plan for a future pregnancy inspired her to write legislation that would expand military health care coverage of fertility treatments for service members and their dependents. She hopes to attach the measure to the annual defense policy bill the House will take up this week.

    …

    Ms. Jacobs froze her first batch of eggs four years ago, but her doctor advised her to freeze more if she wanted to increase her chances of having children after 40. She said she considered it a way to ensure that as a young woman in office, she could have it all — just maybe not all at the same time.

    “There’s this stigma that egg freezing is this sad thing you have to do,” Ms. Jacobs said. “I feel like it’s empowering. I’m taking agency in my life. I’m making the right decision for myself.”

    …

    Ms. Jacobs, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, whose grandfather was an early technology entrepreneur, said she paid about $30,000 out of pocket to freeze her eggs. She did not have an official diagnosis of infertility, meaning the procedure was not covered by her insurance.

    The cost was one reason she decided to write the legislation that she is proposing to add to the defense measure, which would provide coverage for treatments like egg freezing and in vitro fertilization for military personnel and their dependents.

    …

    Ms. Jacobs has not relished her fertility journey, which, while exceedingly unusual for a member of Congress, is fairly common for childless women in their 30s. She even speculated that Taylor Swift, the 35-year-old pop star who recently announced her engagement to the football player Travis Kelce, had likely frozen her eggs.

    (bold mine)

    That’s our Democrats, Fighting For Something for some identity group or another. Certainly not fighting to ensure families have better economic choices that they can make so that they care afford to start a family while it’s still possible.

    Reply ↓
  32. pjay

    The Due Dissidence guys on Matt Taibbi:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUF9uIYzoyU

    Like Keaton and Russell, I have been giving Taibbi some slack for a while, waiting for him to come around. It seems he will not, but instead is doubling down. The defense of Bari Weiss is the last straw for me as well. This comes on the heels of me giving up on yet another “truth teller,” Michael Tracey, for his extremely dishonest trashing of all things Epstein “conspiracy” related (Glenn Greenwald is partially in my doghouse as well for his trashing of Whitney Webb – for her *truthful* reporting on the Snowden files; I noticed Tracey on his last podcast but have not yet had the stomach to watch it). I’ve learned that everyone has their biases and blind-spots, but the recent performance of these two is pretty striking. Whenever this happens (and it seems to always happen eventually), it forces me to reevaluate all of their previous work – which pisses me off even more.

    Reply ↓
    1. lyman alpha blob

      I wasn’t a huge fan of that last one on Weiss either, but I do think he was defending her right to have her say (and make a business out of it) rather than what she was saying. He seems to think she worked hard for it, while others think she’s an ingratiating sycophant. I tend to the latter opinion, but Taibbi’s met her and I haven’t.

      Having read Taibbi for a long time, I do think he’s a nice person, and sometimes a little naive in thinking the best of people. Walter Kirn has called him on it several times on their podcast (and Taibbi, very nicely, made no objections). He’s very reluctant to take people he likes to task. He’s probably pretty disappointed in the turn the media has taken overall and that he now has an adversarial relationship with the rest of the traditional 4th estate that he (on the fringe) and his father used to be part of. Now he has a tendency to go overboard with his denunciations of the corporate media to the point it gets personal. Greenwald has no problem going toe to toe with anyone personally, and I’ve always thought that was when he was at his weakest. Taibbi used to stick to the message and not the messengers, but that has changed. Being insulted in Congressional hearings for telling the truth and having the IRS come to his house probably had an effect too.

      His few attempts to discuss Gaza have been cringeworthy, but I’ve also taken that as him trying to be pleasant to Kirn, whose views on that topic I don’t like at all. He’s explicitly said he’d rather not discuss it at all. I have also considered I may still be grasping at straws here, too since I’ve followed him for decades and have a subscription. If he starts defending Israel himself, that would be the last straw for me.

      What was Webb’s take on the Snowden files – was it about so many still not being released? I hadn’t heard about the disagreement between those two yet. It pisses me off when figures I admire for their integrity start going after each other, and then I have to start doubting my own beliefs. If we’re ever to be rid of these corrupt elites, the circular firing squad needs to stop.

      Reply ↓
      1. JBird4049

        Even the best are human beings and might have issues or blind spots, which means that I try to give everyone some credibility. I really don’t think that dropping people is a good idea unless it is something like celebrating Gaza. There are limits, but since nobody agrees on everything with anybody, when is it time to stop listening to a man or woman?

        Reply ↓
          1. Jonathan Holland Becnel

            Bari Weiss is a Trashy Toady for the Empire.

            F her and Shellenberger, who got street cred with the Twitter Files.

            I have to say I DID NOT see Tracey trying to disprove the Epstein Pedo Ring after Trump called it a hoax.

            I’ve been blasting Tracey on his Twitter posts and finally unfollowed him last week.

            I stopped paying Taibbi when he said he loves neoliberal Free Markets unironically in a post a few months back.

            Reply ↓
      2. anahuna

        https://youtu.be/A3c6cn1UXGw?si=q4DRpJAI3ukpGfxZ

        Above is a link to Sabby Sabs show, in which she talks about Taibbi’s take on Bari Weiss. She also plays a very revealing clip from Matt’s appearance on her show a year ago, during which she asked him to talk about the situation in Gaza. He squirmed and tried to deflect, but she continued to insist on the importance of the subject and to press for a better answer.

        Sabby says that after that show, he emailed her to complain about her asking the question. He hasn’t appeared on her show since.

        In terms of disillusionment, it’s hard for me to equate a feud between Whitney Webb and Glenn Greenwald (who has for some time been eloquent and outspoken about the atrocities in Gaza)) with Taibbi’s deliberate — and shameful— evasion of the topic.

        Reply ↓
        1. pjay

          I definitely would not equate Greenwald with Weiss. But he is self-righteously thin-skinned sometimes. Years ago Webb was critical of The Intercept for the political views of its funder Omidyar, which she felt were slanting coverage of certain stories, and for failing to protect whistle blowers like Reality Winner. She also criticized Greenwald for his role in failing to release the rest of the Snowden files. Though she did not blame him directly for the first two issues, his weak response (sort of like Taibbi’s non-responses on Gaza) made him look bad. And he was directly criticized for sitting on the Snowden files. He has accused her of lying about his role in such events. But as far as I could tell her comments were all factual. She has in fact challenged him to state what she got wrong. I don’t believe he has. But he did have Michael Tracey on his show, who had just written a very dishonest hit-piece on Webb. As I say, I haven’t watched it, so I don’t know if Greenwald challenged Tracey on his Epstein “debunking,” or if they just took turns trashing Webb. Maybe someone can help me here.

          On the Weiss issue though, I agree with the Due Dissidence guys. Weiss pretends to be a “free speech” champion, but has devoted her life to *repressing* speech critical of Zionism or Israel. Like most other right-wingers, her actual position is “free speech for me, but not for thee.” And in my opinion, anyone who claims to be a pure “free speech” advocate simply cannot ignore the issue that is easily the *most* relevant to this issue: the repression of information on and protest over the Gaza genocide. This is apart from the issue of what is *actually occurring* in Gaza, which should be condemned loudly by everyone who claims to believe in a civilized world.

          Reply ↓
          2. anahuna

            Glenn did address that topic directly in a recent show, in a Q & A with listeners. If you Google “Glenn Greenwald Whitney Webb” you’ll find a clip of that particular question. (His response seemed full and fair to me.) I do know how to embed the clip, but here’s a link to the whole show:

            Glenn Takes Your Questions on Censorship, Epstein, and More; DNC Rejects Embargo of Weapons to Israel with Journalist Dave Weigel | SYSTEM UPDATE #505

            Reply ↓
            1. pjay

              Thanks. I agree that Greenwald’s response here seems pretty fair to me – much better in my opinion than Taibbi’s (see my comment below). My own criticism of Webb is that she sometimes connects too many dots, though most of her dots are correct. For example, Omidyar is a billionaire with both links to defense and particular foreign policy interests. He did hire writers at The Intercept who were responsible for what I consider propaganda on topics such as Syria, Ukraine, and Russiagate. The Intercept did betray whistleblowers like Reality Winner. And Greenwald did fail to make the rest of the Snowden files public. If she implied, or stated explicitly, that this was all a plan – “conspiracy,” if you will – by Omidyar to control a prominent alt-media outlet, then perhaps she connected too many dots here. That’s Greenwald’s claim with regard to the Snowden files. She should be called out if this is the case. But again, the dots themselves are all factual, and the inferences are not at all unbelievable, especially given the subsequent history of The Intercept. And though I’ve heard Greenwald explain why the rest of the Snowden files were not released more than once, I can’t say his explanation was very satisfying to me.

              As I say, though, I do not equate Greenwald with Taibbi, and I still appreciate his stance on most issues.

              Reply ↓
            2. lyman alpha blob

              Thanks – I did search for exactly “Glenn Greenwald Whitney Webb” yesterday myself and did not get that clip at all – imagine that!

              Reply ↓
          3. anahuna

            Glenn did address that topic directly in a recent show, in a Q & A with listeners. If you Google “Glenn Greenwald Whitney Webb” you’ll find a clip of that particular question. (His response seemed full and fair to me.) I don’t know how to embed the clip, but here’s a link to the whole show:

            Glenn Takes Your Questions on Censorship, Epstein, and More; DNC Rejects Embargo of Weapons to Israel with Journalist Dave Weigel | SYSTEM UPDATE #505

            Reply ↓
            1. pjay

              Thanks for this. But it doesn’t change my view on Taibbi’s position. Matt is sometimes awkward on camera, but he is a killer with the written word. Here he justifies his position by giving examples of what he depicts as rather juvenile rants by the “progressive left,” calling him a “Mossad toady” or “apologist for a genocidal lying cunt,” etc. We all know that it is easy to find such examples from across the ideological spectrum. But to me his dishonesty – perhaps to himself – is illustrated by the following:

              “Israel supporters will argue with you. They will get defensive on days like today and lecture you about the history leading up to their decision. American advocates for Palestine don’t bother arguing. Since they don’t admit the possibility of honest disagreement, they move straight to the corrupt reasons you must have for failing to already embrace their view: payoffs, blackmail, cowardice, or submission to the Great Jewish Conspiracy…”

              “Honest disagreement”? Suggestions of anti-Semitic “conspiracy” theories by defenders of Palestine, who apparently “don’t bother arguing” about why they are apparently so worked up about this issue?? Are you f**king kidding me?!

              At the risk of promoting “the Great Jewish Conspiracy,” I think the reason the Ellisons would consider hiring a Bari Weiss for such a position at CBS is pretty damn transparent. And I’m sorry, but in this case I have to agree with Caitlin Johnstone here: on Gaza, silence does absolutely equal violence.

              Reply ↓
              1. lyman alpha blob

                Yeah, I agree with you on the false equivalence of that argument and I wish I knew why he doesn’t want to talk much about it. His excuse that he isn’t well versed on the subject rings hollow since he is a very intelligent person. But, he does point out many instances where he has made his feelings clear on the topic, and strongly supports Aaron Mate.

                For some reason, he was also very reluctant to talk about Russiagate for quite some time too. My guess is he had some bias against Russia from living there for so long, and was reluctant to believe that the US media was becoming like Tass during the Soviet era. He did come around eventually, and in a big way.

                Like you said, Greenwald has a thin skin and Taibbi is developing one too. But both of them have very likely been the subject of pressures we don’t know anything about. And it’s hard to believe Greenwald has been able to do what he does after losing a husband and being left with kids to raise on his own. As good as they have been as journalists for many years, they are still human beings after all.

                Reply ↓
  33. Wukchumni

    A ‘Roomba for the forest’ could be SoCal’s next wildfire weapon LA Times
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Seems awfully big and spendy, so of course it’ll be implemented.

    You could do the same with a bulldozer aside from burning everything underfoot, no D-9ing it~

    Reply ↓
  34. Wukchumni

    Donald was head cop in the Junta del Este
    Back in the USA, back in the bad old days

    In the heat of a summer night
    In the land of the dollar bill
    When the town of Chicago was occupied
    And they talk about it still

    When a man named Trump alone
    Tried to make that town his own
    And he called his gang to war
    With the forces of the law

    I heard my mama cry
    I heard her pray the night Chicago was occupied
    Brother, what a night it really was
    Brother, what a fright it really was
    Glory be

    I heard my mama cry
    I heard her pray the night Chicago was occupied
    Brother, what a night the people saw
    Brother, what a fright the people saw
    Yes, indeed

    And the sound of the National Guard rang
    Through the streets of the old east side
    ‘Til the last of the 2nd City hoodlum gang
    Had surrendered up or fled in their stride

    There was shouting in the street
    And the sound of running feet
    And I asked someone who said
    “‘Bout 10,000 National Guardsmen need to be fed!”

    I heard my mama cry
    I heard her pray the night Chicago was occupied
    Brother, what a night it really was
    Brother, what a fright it really was
    Glory be

    I heard my mama cry
    I heard her pray the night Chicago was occupied
    Brother, what a night the people saw
    Brother, what a fright the people saw
    Yes, indeed

    The Night Chicago Died, by Paper Lace

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR0gjl66PVs&list=RDtR0gjl66PVs

    Reply ↓
  35. Jason Boxman

    MAGA on the march

    New tariff rules bring ‘maximum chaos’ as surprise charges hit consumers

    The bills are sudden and jarring: $1,400 for a computer part from Germany, $620 for an aluminum case from Sweden and $1,041 for handbags from Spain.

    Some U.S. shoppers say they are being hit with surprise charges from international shipping carriers as the exemption on import duties for items under $800 expires as a part of President Donald Trump’s tariff push.

    Reply ↓
    1. JBird4049

      Some of the used books that I buy are from Canada and Europe. The shipping before the ending of the exemptions, it could be a bit expensive at $5 to $25, but the latest amount has risen as high as $83, which means I ain’t ordering any used books from outside of the United States. Even if I had the money, I refuse to spend two, three, or four times the cost of the book in shipping.

      Reply ↓
      1. Jonathan Holland Becnel

        I recently sent the latest Taylor Swift Lovers Album from Target to my friend in Ontario, Canada, AND THEY CHARGED ME 43$!!!!

        Reply ↓
  36. amfortas

    in a pickle, because i didnt have my glasses on when i pulled that sausage.
    dude who came out last night to eat gourmet fish and shrimp brought me a buncha stuff, as always…deer meat, deer and pork ground sausage, a bottle of decent tequila for the bar freezer, a bottle of actual olive oil from actual italy…and a couple of link sausages.
    it was one of these that i pulled to thaw for diner, since one can get quite tired of lamb,lol.
    turns out, it was made with ghost peppers and cheddar,lol….wasnt that hot on the palate, but man!….fire on the inside.
    i’m afeared to go to bed, lest i awake with terrible heartburn.
    so im staying up drinkin beer and burping like crazy.
    lol.
    i mean, i do hot, spicy food on the regular…cajun, mexican, pasta arrabiatta, etc.
    i keep peppers growing year-round…and they might even be my main veggiie.
    but damn!
    “ghost peppers”?

    Reply ↓
    1. raspberry jam

      a former neighbor used to buy dried ghost peppers and put a few into a bottle of bourbon. Sometimes he would decant the liquor out after a time, sometimes leave the peppers in. He made great winter cocktails with it and swore by the stuff when he had a head cold. I received a gift bottle one year around the holidays and enjoyed a small bit mixed in with hot chocolate.

      edit: forgot to mention ghost peppers are indeed quite high on the scoville scale. they ain’t jalapenos for sure

      Reply ↓
      1. tegnost

        I use them all the time for flavor more than the heat, one habanero boiled into a cup of dried beans for instance. The smoky flavor is great, I think they get used in some of the various african cuisines
        I keep them frozen.

        Reply ↓
    2. amfortas

      well, i survived,lol.
      and the flavor was good, no doubt.
      but i’ll mix the rest of that link with some kinda hash, or something, to stretch it out.
      strangely, perhaps, what settled the matter was sipping two jiggers of that tequila, over an hour and a half.
      and i hadnt intended to drink last night, but needs must….stayed up with the jellyjar of ashes til 10-ish.
      havent had heartburn in years, since i stopped the fast food after cancertime.

      Reply ↓
  37. Ben Panga

    Revealed: the huge growth of Myanmar scam centres that may hold 100,000 trafficked people (Guardian)

    Edit: forgot the link https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/sep/08/myanmar-military-junta-scam-centres-trafficking-crime-syndicates-kk-park

    Mateo*, from the Philippines, spent six months trapped inside KK Park. He had travelled from his home to Thailand last year, believing he had secured a legitimate job as a customer service representative.

    Instead he was trafficked across the border and his passport was taken away. Each day he was required to message hundreds of older American men on social media sites, building their trust until they shared their WhatsApp number. The contact would then be passed on to another scamming team.

    If he failed to meet targets he would be punished with a stun gun or with gruelling physical penalties in the searing heat outside. Leaving the compound was not an option. “There are many armed guards,” he says…

    ….Thai police estimated earlier this year that as many as 100,000 people were held inside Myanmar scam centres along the countries’ shared border.

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  38. raspberry jam

    Smotrich visits India, signs bilateral trade deal investment agreement

    Times of Israel | Al Jazeera

    From ToI:

    The bilateral investment agreement provides safeguards for investors by establishing mutual protections, giving Israeli investors more certainty against, for example, regulatory changes in both countries, as well as security from expropriation. The treaty establishes conditions for fair treatment and non-discrimination and provides a forum for independent dispute settlement through arbitration.

    From AJ:

    Bilateral trade stood at $3.9bn in 2024, while current mutual investments are worth about $800m, according to official figures. But the bulk of the trade between the two countries is in the domain of defence and security, with New Delhi being Israel’s largest weapons buyer.

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